I have been accused by my peers, on more than one occasion, during my time in elementary school (P.S. 138) and middle school (I.S. 131) in the Bronx.
Acting white means to do well in school; and although it was never verbalized this had to mean that acting black meant doing badly in school.
I was threatened by a white teacher in my elementary school for having a "look" on my face after finishing an assignment earlier than the rest of the class.
I loved most of my teachers. I enjoyed and loved school. Yet I was, not the norm. But my path was far from straight, especially after the breakdown of my immediate family situation (another story). I did not go on directly to a higher educational institution. Rather, my educational development grew outside the system thanks to non-mainstream independent media sources and iconoclastic controversial thinkers.
Discrimination and disparity will continue to exist in our schools until America finds a way to honestly come to terms with it's horrific past. Hopefully, having an African American president will help this happen sooner rather than later.
---------------------------
Dr Joy De Gruy pt1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PvRUz2ILXQ
---------------------------
Dr Joy De Gruy pt2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxca_Fwgmeo
---------------------------
Dr Joy De Gruy pt3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BEO-A4XU68
---------------------------
Dr Joy De Gruy pt4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrtV_AuoZX0
---------------------------
Dr Joy De Gruy pt5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AneqOmFcuO0
---------------------------
More Joy 1 of5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfTDlCNrtDY
---------------------------
More Joy 2 of5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBziM49FqxM
---------------------------
More Joy 3 of5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnsHtbx8V3g
---------------------------
More Joy 4 of5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCZrzJ0NChw
---------------------------
More Joy 5 of5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuBbFXzeK4I
---------------------------
---------------------------
1/11 Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome - Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNHPBJhRZNk
---------------------------
2/11 Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome - Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BKXMaGiH0k
---------------------------
3/11 Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome - Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMtbpb2VwMs
---------------------------
4/11 Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome - Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vXQYMsWnxk
---------------------------
5/11 Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome - Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr7R4sxN8jk
--------------------------
6/11 Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome - Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t397ck30pc
--------------------------
7/11 Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome - Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JssgL5TJaBQ
---------------------------
8/11 Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome - Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyxtH85uZM8
----------------------------
9/11 Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome - Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VUutaeHiRg
----------------------------
10/11 Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome - Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dgvGAPNGRQ
----------------------------
11/11 Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome - Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w1bPschIlk
----------------------------
----------------------------
Saturday, March 28, 2009
New York City Middle School Students Interview 3
Friday
March 27, 2009
Bronx, New York City
I interviewed my nephew and his classmate, Matthew and Michael, at my sister's house in the Bronx. They are first year middle school students at Albert Einstein I.S. 131. It's the same middle school I went to in the 1980s. I am not a teacher in the NYC school system. So I have no experience inside it as a teacher. I used to teach English in Korea in various institutes and several schools.
Generally, I have a pessimistic view of the schools here. American education is abysmal in it's efforts to prepare it's citizens to fully participate in society. This seems to be especially true of African American males (of which I am one).
I could expound on and on infinitely about what's wrong with the schools here. I will just say that historically it's been an amazing struggle. African Americans had to fight for everything we have in this country. Younger generations take for granted things that were unthinkable in the past.
But still things aren't good now and seem to be devolving in some respects. Even with an African American president in the White House. The United States is supposedly the mightiest country on earth. Yet looking at countries like Norway, France, England, even little Cuba (as Michael Moore did recently in his docudrama SICKO)--we see that we are quite backwards in comparison. Americans are simply put to shame when we look at some of the basic pillars of a society like housing, employment, health care, education and the judicial system.
Those other countries have miraculously discovered that a well-treated, healthy, educated citizenry is the basis of a strong society.
The City University of New York was free to all until the 1970s when African Americans began to enroll en mass. Racism is our disease. And we are still very very sick with this cancer of the mind.
The very essence of the United States of America has been one of racial, cultural and economic domination through war, repression, incarceration, disinformation and exploitation of all kinds. It's education system is a microcosm of this: As the country invests more prisons over investing in it's schools.
Fitzcarl Antony Johnson Reid
인터넷영어튜터 070-7847-5245
http://club.cyworld.com/InternetEnglishTutor
relevant links:
http://www.wbai.org
http://www.freespeech.org
http://ww.pacifica.org
-------------------------------------
"Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome" - The Theory of Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome suggest that centuries of slavery followed by systemic racism and oppression have resulted in multigenerational adaptive behaviors, some of which have been positive and reflective of resilience, and others that are detrimental and destructive. In brief, Dr. DeGruy presents facts; statistics and documents that illustrate how varying levels of both clinically induced and socially learned residual stress related issues were passed along through generations as a result of slavery.
http://www.joydegruy.com/
------------------------------------
Tim Wise-institutional racism, labor, prison education
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-VEWJncnsk
-------------------------------------
Tim Wise: discussing his new book Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama
http://www.redroom.com/event/discussing-his-new-book-between-barack-and-a-hard-place-racism-and-white-denial-age-obama
--------------------------------------
Tim Wise on White Privilege - Racism, White Denial & the Costs of Inequality
http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=137
------------------------------------
Not-So-Little White Lies: Education and the Myth of Black Anti-Intellectualism
http://www.zmag.org/zspace/commentaries/1387
-------------------------------------
Why Slavery?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ecXcSG3yC8
-------------------------------------
Incarceration vs. Education: Reproducing Racism and Poverty in America
http://www.urbanhabitat.org/node/2808
------------------------------------
Racism and Public Schools, 2 Articles
http://www.commongroundcommonsense.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=52866
-------------------------------------
Racism in America's Schools. ERIC Digest Series, Number EA 49.
http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9215/racism.htm
------------------------------------
Reduce the Rate: Rev. Jesse Jackson Joins Movement Against Crippling Rates on Student Loans
March 12, 2009 | Story
Amid massive government bailouts of the nation's banks, we speak to the Reverend Jesse Jackson about Reduce the Rate, his new campaign urging the Obama administration to slash the interest rates on …
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/3/12/reduce_the_rate_rev_jesse_jackson
----------------------
Senate Nears Stimulus Vote After Cutting Education Spending
February 09, 2009 | Headline
The Senate is expected to vote to end debate today on a compromise version that will cut more than $100 billion from President Obama's economic stimulus plan. The cuts include $35 billion for …
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/2/9/headlines#1
------------------------
Study: Segregation on Rise in US Schools
January 16, 2009 | Headline
In education news, a new report says black and Latino students are experiencing increasing segregation in US schools. The University of California’s Civil Rights Project says black and Hispanic …
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/1/16/headlines#19
-------------------------
January 08, 2004 - America Behind The Color Line–A Conversation With Renowned Scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. - Renowned scholar and chair of Harvard’s African-American studies department Henry Louis Gates joins in our firehouse studios to discuss Colin Powell, Cornel West and how the African American experience has transformed from a civil rights movement into a class struggle.
http://www.democracynow.org/2004/1/8/america_behind_the_color_line_a
-------------------------------
October 10, 2005 - Indigenous Activists Blast Columbus Day as “Propping Up of Racist Propaganda”Columbusday protest - Today is known as Columbus Day–we take a look at why some people are not commemorating the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the so-called “new world.”
http://www.democracynow.org/2005/10/10/indigenous_activists_blast_columbus_day_as
------------------------------
March 29, 2006 - Thousands of Students Defy School Lockdowns and Continue Walkouts to Protest Anti-Immigrant Bill- Walkout2 - Tens of thousands of high school students have staged walkouts in protest over a House bill that proposes a sweeping crackdown on undocumented immigrants. We go to Los Angeles to speak with Jasmine Chavez, a 17-year old student at Montabello High School and Luis Rodriguez, a community activist, poet and writer.
http://www.democracynow.org/2006/3/29/thousands_of_students_defy_school_lockdowns
----------------------------
January 19, 2007 - Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present - Washington1-19
- Medical scholar Harriet Washington joins us to talk about her new book, “Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present.” The book reveals the hidden underbelly of scientific research and the roots of the African American health deficit. It also examines less well-known abuses and looks at unethical practices and mistreatment of blacks that are still taking place in the medical establishment today.
http://www.democracynow.org/2007/1/19/medical_apartheid_the_dark_history_of
------------------------
Opening with profiles of several ordinary Americans whose lives have been disrupted, shattered, and—in some cases—ended by health care catastrophe, the film makes clear that the crisis doesn't only affect the 47 million uninsured citizens—millions of others who dutifully pay their premiums often get strangled by bureaucratic red tape as well. After detailing just how the system got into such a mess (the short answer: profits and Nixon), we are whisked around the world, visiting countries including Canada, Great Britain and France, where all citizens receive free medical benefits. Finally, Moore gathers a group of 9/11 heroes – rescue workers now suffering from debilitating illnesses who have been denied medical attention in the US. He takes them to a most unexpected place, and in addition to finally receiving care, they also engage in some unexpected diplomacy.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/index.html
Friday, March 27, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Elementary Schools in New York
This is from J.Lee. She is an elementary school teacher in NewYork.
==================================
- Your name J. Lee
- Where you live new york
- Your Position/Title teacher
- Years of experiences as an educator 1 1/2 yrs.
- The grade or level, subject you are teaching or taught 3rd grade
- How are schools divided in your country?
in Korea - elementary-middle-high school
in the US - pre-K, K-5 , or K-8 PS/IS, high school
- The differences between the reasons for public schools and the reasons for private schools?
providing variety extracurricular activities, low teacher-student ratio , flexibility in expenditure and curriculum planning, more parent involvement?
- What are extracurricular activities in your school?
chorus, music(band), ballroom dancing, chess, fitness club, gymnastics, baton twirlers, book clubs, etc must be more that I don't know.
- What kinds of subjects do your students learn in school? How many?
reading, writing, math, art, computers, studio in a school (art based on social studies curriculum), NY philharmonic(music), gym, etc
Tell us anything else about curricula in your country/state.
- Funding for schools?
dunno-we're an empowerment school- have flexibility in budget planning and expenditure.
- The social and economic status of teachers/professors in your school area?
mostly middle class.
- How is the foreign language/bilingual education managed in schools?
ESL
- How important is teaching foreign languages? How many languages are
taught in schools?
none
- How supportive the principal and parents in your school district?
extremely supportive.
==================================
- Your name J. Lee
- Where you live new york
- Your Position/Title teacher
- Years of experiences as an educator 1 1/2 yrs.
- The grade or level, subject you are teaching or taught 3rd grade
- How are schools divided in your country?
in Korea - elementary-middle-high school
in the US - pre-K, K-5 , or K-8 PS/IS, high school
- The differences between the reasons for public schools and the reasons for private schools?
providing variety extracurricular activities, low teacher-student ratio , flexibility in expenditure and curriculum planning, more parent involvement?
- What are extracurricular activities in your school?
chorus, music(band), ballroom dancing, chess, fitness club, gymnastics, baton twirlers, book clubs, etc must be more that I don't know.
- What kinds of subjects do your students learn in school? How many?
reading, writing, math, art, computers, studio in a school (art based on social studies curriculum), NY philharmonic(music), gym, etc
Tell us anything else about curricula in your country/state.
- Funding for schools?
dunno-we're an empowerment school- have flexibility in budget planning and expenditure.
- The social and economic status of teachers/professors in your school area?
mostly middle class.
- How is the foreign language/bilingual education managed in schools?
ESL
- How important is teaching foreign languages? How many languages are
taught in schools?
none
- How supportive the principal and parents in your school district?
extremely supportive.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Education Fever: Society, Politics, and the Pursuit of Schooling in South Korea
I have posted about the educational fever in South Korea. I found an interesting article about the issue.
=======================
Educational expansion in South Korea (hereafter referred to as Korea) has attracted scholars’ attention both inside and outside the country as an exceptional educational and social phenomenon. Foreign scholars who visit Korea for even just a few days would receive a strong impression of Korea’s education fever. In his book Education Fever: Society, Politics, and the Pursuit of Schooling in South Korea, Michael J. Seth (assistant professor of history, James Madison University, Virginia) introduces Korean education fever as follows. “A great air of tension hovered throughout South Korea on 17 November 1999. A special task force had spent months planning for that day. . . . Thousands of special duty police were on alert in many cities. . . . Flights at all the nation’s airports had been restricted, and special efforts had been made to halt construction to avoid creating noise or commotion of any kind” (p. 1). “It was the day of the national university entrance examinations,” (p. 1) not the day of a coup d’état or demonstration. I think this sort of mysterious happening may have led him to write this book.
This book provides useful information concerning an exceptionally successful education transformation in Korea. Korea has changed from “a nation where a majority of the population had no formal education” to “one with some of the world’s highest rates of literacy, high school graduates, and university students” (Book Description). Although many foreign scholars evaluate Korean education fever positively, Korean scholars have worried about it because it has caused so many educational difficulties as well as social problems. Therefore, Korean scholars have recently tried to explain the causes of this education fever and suggested various solutions. Scholars’ work on education fever and expansion can be categorized into two approaches—descriptive and explanatory. Foreign scholars have usually attempted to describe the revolutionary educational expansion in Korea but with a feeling of uncertainty.
This review is a Korean educational sociologist’s comment on Korea’s Education Fever written by an American professor of history who has taught English at a Korean university and participated as an English instructor in a number of in-service training programs for middle and high school teachers for several years in Korea. First of all, I would like to say that I find his work interesting, thoughtful, and significant. In particular, I was very impressed by his careful and extensive data collection. His work is certainly useful not only to foreign scholars but also to Korean scholars, who do not have such a well-organized book covering the contemporary history of Korean education.
I have no doubt that readers will come to know what so-called “education fever” in Korea is through his work. However, readers may have difficulty in understanding why such a phenomenon has happened in this country, which was until relatively recently “an impoverished, largely rural nation ruled by a succession of authoritarian regimes and is now a prosperous, democratic industrial society” (Book Description). In other words, Seth’s work is descriptive rather than explanatory. He has carefully and successfully illustrated society, politics, and the pursuit of schooling in South Korea, but has failed to provide in-depth explanations of why “education fever” happened. I think that this was because he took “a historical approach to measure and probe the causes of Korea’s education fever” (p. 7). He could have taken an explanatory approach by taking on the role of a detective (Winks, 1969). This is not impossible because his study was based on contemporary history, and the data were collected through interviews with teachers, officials, parents, and students and an examination of a wide range of written materials in both Korean and English.
It seems to me that Seth wanted to argue through this book that “South Korea’s education fever was the principal force that drove the country’s extraordinary educational development” (p. 6). He accomplished this purpose by providing sufficient data to prove this argument. I think he also wanted to argue that “this preoccupation with the pursuit of formal schooling was the product of the diffusion of traditional Confucian attitudes toward learning and status, new egalitarian ideas introduced from the West, and the complex, often contradictory ways in which new and old ideals and formulations interacted” (p. 6). This argument, however, remained as a working hypothesis or a proposition to be verified because he was not able to provide sufficient evidence.
If he had reviewed the current literature published after 1999 in Korea, he could have explained why Korea is a society which sets excessive value on a person’s academic background. Korean scholars have tried to explain the rapid educational expansion in Korea with various theories that have originated in Western society. They include human capital theory, status attainment theory, screening theory, status competition theory, class control theory, world system theory, and information theory, and so on. These theories are partially useful for explaining the educational expansion that has taken place in Korean society. But they fail to fully capture the peculiarity of Korean educational expansion. We certainly need an alternative theory to explain the Korean case.
I think that a more suitable term to express the explosive educational expansion in Korean society is ‘zeal,’ which means great interest in something and eagerness to be involved in it. Korean educational expansion is the outcome of Koreans’ educational zeal for getting ahead economically, socio-culturally, and/or politically. The expansion is not individual fever but social zeal. Koreans have competed with others for getting longer years of schooling and belonging to a better academic clique. Longer schooling and belonging to a well-named clique have been powerful instruments for getting ahead in this society.
I have used a term, ‘educational zeal’ to describe the cause of rapid educational expansion and many other educational problems in Korea (Oh, 2000). In order to take the educational zeal of Korean people as the main factor of rapid educational expansion, I think, it is necessary to understand the origin and development of educational zeal itself as a unique phenomenon in Korean society. In this context, I intend to build a relevant theoretical model for Korean educational expansion which places the concept of educational zeal at the center of the theory. The terminologies I coined for my theoretical models are ‘education-success correspondence theory,’ ‘group as competition unit theory,’ ‘expanded sharing of experience theory,’ and ‘foreign language as capital theory’.
Through the history of the Chosŏn dynasty, Japanese imperialism, American military occupation, new independent Korean governance, and the rapid economic growth of the last three decades, Korean people have witnessed that the educated have got ahead in society. In the midst of the incessant structural change of the society, many people have made their way by means of their educational achievements, which have been regarded as providing an objective and legitimate frame of reference to select and screen people. Therefore, Korean people have come to take education, especially higher education, seriously as a means to success.
In addition, within the intimate kinship system of Korean society, family and relatives usually function as a primary unit of social competition and support the education of their prospective offspring to obtain better positions in social competition. In fact, the social success of any member of the family through educational achievement strengthens the competitiveness of the whole family. Therefore, every member of Korean society is convinced that schooling is a trustworthy way to success, values education more than anything else, and invests in education at any cost.
Another important factor is that Korea has been historically under the influence of superpowers, such as China, Japan, and the United States of America. As a result, the ability to command foreign languages has been the key to achieving upward social mobility in Korea. Chinese, Japanese, and English have functioned as decisive cultural capital for getting ahead in the Chosŏn dynasty, during the Japanese colonial period, and after independence respectively. Nowadays, English is the most important linguistic capital for getting life chances. Under this circumstance, Korean people demand more and more education to learn foreign languages.
This noteworthy educational expansion led by the enthusiastic educational demand coming from the Korean people has resulted from the situations mentioned above. In sum, educational success is directly connected to the social success of the individual and the family as a whole in Korean society, and educational zeal has originated in people’s recognition of this reality and their experience of the educational effect on social success.
We, Korean scholars want to listen to foreign scholars’ insightful explanations about our country’s educational zeal rather than to hear visitors’ impressions about us. We hope that foreign scholars are able to ascertain the causes of problems which insiders cannot perceive, explain the phenomena more objectively than we do, and offer insightful suggestions for solving the problems. I am in great hopes that Seth will continue his research on Korean history and education. I also hope that he will receive Korean scholars’ assistance when writing subsequent books so that he will have little difficulty in using terms, concepts, and Korean names appropriately. I will honestly welcome him if he joins us, the Korean Society for the Study of Education and the Korean Society for the Study of the Sociology of Education.
===================
By Oh, Ookwhan 2006
Review of Education Fever: Society, Politics, and the Pursuit of Schooling in South Korea, by Michael J. Seth (2002)
Korean Studies Review 2006, no. 08
Electronic file: http://koreaweb.ws/ks/ksr/ksr06-08.htm
=======================
Educational expansion in South Korea (hereafter referred to as Korea) has attracted scholars’ attention both inside and outside the country as an exceptional educational and social phenomenon. Foreign scholars who visit Korea for even just a few days would receive a strong impression of Korea’s education fever. In his book Education Fever: Society, Politics, and the Pursuit of Schooling in South Korea, Michael J. Seth (assistant professor of history, James Madison University, Virginia) introduces Korean education fever as follows. “A great air of tension hovered throughout South Korea on 17 November 1999. A special task force had spent months planning for that day. . . . Thousands of special duty police were on alert in many cities. . . . Flights at all the nation’s airports had been restricted, and special efforts had been made to halt construction to avoid creating noise or commotion of any kind” (p. 1). “It was the day of the national university entrance examinations,” (p. 1) not the day of a coup d’état or demonstration. I think this sort of mysterious happening may have led him to write this book.
This book provides useful information concerning an exceptionally successful education transformation in Korea. Korea has changed from “a nation where a majority of the population had no formal education” to “one with some of the world’s highest rates of literacy, high school graduates, and university students” (Book Description). Although many foreign scholars evaluate Korean education fever positively, Korean scholars have worried about it because it has caused so many educational difficulties as well as social problems. Therefore, Korean scholars have recently tried to explain the causes of this education fever and suggested various solutions. Scholars’ work on education fever and expansion can be categorized into two approaches—descriptive and explanatory. Foreign scholars have usually attempted to describe the revolutionary educational expansion in Korea but with a feeling of uncertainty.
This review is a Korean educational sociologist’s comment on Korea’s Education Fever written by an American professor of history who has taught English at a Korean university and participated as an English instructor in a number of in-service training programs for middle and high school teachers for several years in Korea. First of all, I would like to say that I find his work interesting, thoughtful, and significant. In particular, I was very impressed by his careful and extensive data collection. His work is certainly useful not only to foreign scholars but also to Korean scholars, who do not have such a well-organized book covering the contemporary history of Korean education.
I have no doubt that readers will come to know what so-called “education fever” in Korea is through his work. However, readers may have difficulty in understanding why such a phenomenon has happened in this country, which was until relatively recently “an impoverished, largely rural nation ruled by a succession of authoritarian regimes and is now a prosperous, democratic industrial society” (Book Description). In other words, Seth’s work is descriptive rather than explanatory. He has carefully and successfully illustrated society, politics, and the pursuit of schooling in South Korea, but has failed to provide in-depth explanations of why “education fever” happened. I think that this was because he took “a historical approach to measure and probe the causes of Korea’s education fever” (p. 7). He could have taken an explanatory approach by taking on the role of a detective (Winks, 1969). This is not impossible because his study was based on contemporary history, and the data were collected through interviews with teachers, officials, parents, and students and an examination of a wide range of written materials in both Korean and English.
It seems to me that Seth wanted to argue through this book that “South Korea’s education fever was the principal force that drove the country’s extraordinary educational development” (p. 6). He accomplished this purpose by providing sufficient data to prove this argument. I think he also wanted to argue that “this preoccupation with the pursuit of formal schooling was the product of the diffusion of traditional Confucian attitudes toward learning and status, new egalitarian ideas introduced from the West, and the complex, often contradictory ways in which new and old ideals and formulations interacted” (p. 6). This argument, however, remained as a working hypothesis or a proposition to be verified because he was not able to provide sufficient evidence.
If he had reviewed the current literature published after 1999 in Korea, he could have explained why Korea is a society which sets excessive value on a person’s academic background. Korean scholars have tried to explain the rapid educational expansion in Korea with various theories that have originated in Western society. They include human capital theory, status attainment theory, screening theory, status competition theory, class control theory, world system theory, and information theory, and so on. These theories are partially useful for explaining the educational expansion that has taken place in Korean society. But they fail to fully capture the peculiarity of Korean educational expansion. We certainly need an alternative theory to explain the Korean case.
I think that a more suitable term to express the explosive educational expansion in Korean society is ‘zeal,’ which means great interest in something and eagerness to be involved in it. Korean educational expansion is the outcome of Koreans’ educational zeal for getting ahead economically, socio-culturally, and/or politically. The expansion is not individual fever but social zeal. Koreans have competed with others for getting longer years of schooling and belonging to a better academic clique. Longer schooling and belonging to a well-named clique have been powerful instruments for getting ahead in this society.
I have used a term, ‘educational zeal’ to describe the cause of rapid educational expansion and many other educational problems in Korea (Oh, 2000). In order to take the educational zeal of Korean people as the main factor of rapid educational expansion, I think, it is necessary to understand the origin and development of educational zeal itself as a unique phenomenon in Korean society. In this context, I intend to build a relevant theoretical model for Korean educational expansion which places the concept of educational zeal at the center of the theory. The terminologies I coined for my theoretical models are ‘education-success correspondence theory,’ ‘group as competition unit theory,’ ‘expanded sharing of experience theory,’ and ‘foreign language as capital theory’.
Through the history of the Chosŏn dynasty, Japanese imperialism, American military occupation, new independent Korean governance, and the rapid economic growth of the last three decades, Korean people have witnessed that the educated have got ahead in society. In the midst of the incessant structural change of the society, many people have made their way by means of their educational achievements, which have been regarded as providing an objective and legitimate frame of reference to select and screen people. Therefore, Korean people have come to take education, especially higher education, seriously as a means to success.
In addition, within the intimate kinship system of Korean society, family and relatives usually function as a primary unit of social competition and support the education of their prospective offspring to obtain better positions in social competition. In fact, the social success of any member of the family through educational achievement strengthens the competitiveness of the whole family. Therefore, every member of Korean society is convinced that schooling is a trustworthy way to success, values education more than anything else, and invests in education at any cost.
Another important factor is that Korea has been historically under the influence of superpowers, such as China, Japan, and the United States of America. As a result, the ability to command foreign languages has been the key to achieving upward social mobility in Korea. Chinese, Japanese, and English have functioned as decisive cultural capital for getting ahead in the Chosŏn dynasty, during the Japanese colonial period, and after independence respectively. Nowadays, English is the most important linguistic capital for getting life chances. Under this circumstance, Korean people demand more and more education to learn foreign languages.
This noteworthy educational expansion led by the enthusiastic educational demand coming from the Korean people has resulted from the situations mentioned above. In sum, educational success is directly connected to the social success of the individual and the family as a whole in Korean society, and educational zeal has originated in people’s recognition of this reality and their experience of the educational effect on social success.
We, Korean scholars want to listen to foreign scholars’ insightful explanations about our country’s educational zeal rather than to hear visitors’ impressions about us. We hope that foreign scholars are able to ascertain the causes of problems which insiders cannot perceive, explain the phenomena more objectively than we do, and offer insightful suggestions for solving the problems. I am in great hopes that Seth will continue his research on Korean history and education. I also hope that he will receive Korean scholars’ assistance when writing subsequent books so that he will have little difficulty in using terms, concepts, and Korean names appropriately. I will honestly welcome him if he joins us, the Korean Society for the Study of Education and the Korean Society for the Study of the Sociology of Education.
===================
By Oh, Ookwhan 2006
Review of Education Fever: Society, Politics, and the Pursuit of Schooling in South Korea, by Michael J. Seth (2002)
Korean Studies Review 2006, no. 08
Electronic file: http://koreaweb.ws/ks/ksr/ksr06-08.htm
Friday, February 20, 2009
Educational system of Cyprus
Pavlos sent this information from Cyprus.
===================================
The schools in Cyprus are divided into Elementary school (6 years), Gymnasium (3 years) and Lyceum (3 more years) or Technical school (3 years). Public schools are mainly chosen from those students that want to study to a university in Cyprus or Greece (i.e. in the Greek language) whereas students choosing the private schools mainly target in studying in U.K. or the States as in a private school most of the classes are tutored in English (except Greek, Math and History). Also, in a private school one has to pay so only students that their parents can afford to pay the tuition choose to go there. Throughout these 12 years the school years starts in September and ends in early July. Furthermore, all schools require their students to wear a particular uniform to school; public schools have a unique uniform whereas each private school has its own. During the first six years in the Elementary school students are taught Greek, arts, math, music, religion, general science, geography and physical education. All students are to progress to Gymnasium. In Gymnasium students are taught Greek literature, foreign language (English), Art, Music, Religion, History, Chemistry, Argent Greek, Math, Physics and Biology. From Gymnasium students can either choose to go to Lyceum or to the technical school. In a Technical school students major mostly in technical jobs like plumbing, building, e.t.c. but they also have classes in the same subjects as in gymnasium but, of course, more advanced. Would a student choose to go to the Lyceum he should choose a specific sector to which they want to major in; they can go to (a) Practico where they are taught Advanced Physics, Advanced Math, Advanced Chemistry (b) Klassiko where they are taught Latin, philosophy, European Literature (c) Oikomiko where the students have many classes abut economics and mathematics (same level of mathematics as in Practico) and (d) Emporiko where students take classes aiming to teach them how to manage a corporation. In all sectors, as well and in the last 3 years in the technical school, students also take French as a second foreign language but also some computer classes. Teachers only get to teach in elementary school. In Gymnasium and Lyceum only people with University degrees are allowed to teach. For example math is taught by mathematicians, physics by physicists, e.t.c. Same holds in a Technical school but there only people that graduate from technical institutes get to tech (in Cyprus we have ATI, the Superior Technical institute). Both in the gymnasium and Lyceum but also in the technical school, every student is required to take an examination (in major courses) after each year around July. Should they fail, they should take an additional examination in the course they have failed in September. If they fail again (even in one course) they should attend once again the whole year.
At the end of the last year of Lyceum and the Technical school, students who choose to continue for a university degree have to give an additional examination at the end of July. The pool for these exams is all the students throughout Cyprus who choose to have a university degree. All students have to fill out a list in which he should write the possible degrees he would like to major in along with the town they would like to study at. For example I chose Chemical Engineering in Athens, Thessalonica and Patras and Physics in Cyprus, Athens, Thessalonica and Patras. The sequence in which the degrees and cities are written is very important. For example assume that all three Chemical Engineering schools choose to take only 50 students each this year. If 150 students throughout Cyprus score a higher grade than me then I would not be able to attend a Chemical Engineering school and my name would be included in the list for a placement in the Physics departments; if I scored 145 in this list I would be able to attend Chemical Engineering but it would have to be in Patras. However, not all students are allowed to choose all degrees. As an example students from Practiko are allowed to apply for Physics, Math, Chemistry and for a Medical degree but can not apply for Greek literature or Philosophy degrees. Students from Oikonomiko can apply for all economic degrees and also for math departments (as they had advanced math in Lyceum) but can not apply for a Physics or Chemistry department. The duration of the undergraduate studies lasts either 4, 5 and 6 years. Polytechnic schools (Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, e.t.c) last for 5 years, a Medical degree lasts for 6 years whereas everything else for 4 years.
===========
from Pavlos
===================================
The schools in Cyprus are divided into Elementary school (6 years), Gymnasium (3 years) and Lyceum (3 more years) or Technical school (3 years). Public schools are mainly chosen from those students that want to study to a university in Cyprus or Greece (i.e. in the Greek language) whereas students choosing the private schools mainly target in studying in U.K. or the States as in a private school most of the classes are tutored in English (except Greek, Math and History). Also, in a private school one has to pay so only students that their parents can afford to pay the tuition choose to go there. Throughout these 12 years the school years starts in September and ends in early July. Furthermore, all schools require their students to wear a particular uniform to school; public schools have a unique uniform whereas each private school has its own. During the first six years in the Elementary school students are taught Greek, arts, math, music, religion, general science, geography and physical education. All students are to progress to Gymnasium. In Gymnasium students are taught Greek literature, foreign language (English), Art, Music, Religion, History, Chemistry, Argent Greek, Math, Physics and Biology. From Gymnasium students can either choose to go to Lyceum or to the technical school. In a Technical school students major mostly in technical jobs like plumbing, building, e.t.c. but they also have classes in the same subjects as in gymnasium but, of course, more advanced. Would a student choose to go to the Lyceum he should choose a specific sector to which they want to major in; they can go to (a) Practico where they are taught Advanced Physics, Advanced Math, Advanced Chemistry (b) Klassiko where they are taught Latin, philosophy, European Literature (c) Oikomiko where the students have many classes abut economics and mathematics (same level of mathematics as in Practico) and (d) Emporiko where students take classes aiming to teach them how to manage a corporation. In all sectors, as well and in the last 3 years in the technical school, students also take French as a second foreign language but also some computer classes. Teachers only get to teach in elementary school. In Gymnasium and Lyceum only people with University degrees are allowed to teach. For example math is taught by mathematicians, physics by physicists, e.t.c. Same holds in a Technical school but there only people that graduate from technical institutes get to tech (in Cyprus we have ATI, the Superior Technical institute). Both in the gymnasium and Lyceum but also in the technical school, every student is required to take an examination (in major courses) after each year around July. Should they fail, they should take an additional examination in the course they have failed in September. If they fail again (even in one course) they should attend once again the whole year.
At the end of the last year of Lyceum and the Technical school, students who choose to continue for a university degree have to give an additional examination at the end of July. The pool for these exams is all the students throughout Cyprus who choose to have a university degree. All students have to fill out a list in which he should write the possible degrees he would like to major in along with the town they would like to study at. For example I chose Chemical Engineering in Athens, Thessalonica and Patras and Physics in Cyprus, Athens, Thessalonica and Patras. The sequence in which the degrees and cities are written is very important. For example assume that all three Chemical Engineering schools choose to take only 50 students each this year. If 150 students throughout Cyprus score a higher grade than me then I would not be able to attend a Chemical Engineering school and my name would be included in the list for a placement in the Physics departments; if I scored 145 in this list I would be able to attend Chemical Engineering but it would have to be in Patras. However, not all students are allowed to choose all degrees. As an example students from Practiko are allowed to apply for Physics, Math, Chemistry and for a Medical degree but can not apply for Greek literature or Philosophy degrees. Students from Oikonomiko can apply for all economic degrees and also for math departments (as they had advanced math in Lyceum) but can not apply for a Physics or Chemistry department. The duration of the undergraduate studies lasts either 4, 5 and 6 years. Polytechnic schools (Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, e.t.c) last for 5 years, a Medical degree lasts for 6 years whereas everything else for 4 years.
===========
from Pavlos
Pavlos's introduction from Cyprus
This is the introduction that Pavlos sent from Cyprus/Greece.
- Your name: Pavlos S.
- Where you live: Nicosia, Cyprus
- Your Position/Title: Graduate student, Patras, Greece
- The grade or level, subject you are teaching or taught: I have been a teaching assistant at the University of Patras in 3 undergraduate classes. However, I had no teaching experience in the secondary education level
- Interests/hobby I am interested in reading books, reading and writing poetry and painting
- And anything else about you
For the past 8 years I have been living in Patras, Greece since there I had my undergraduate but also graduate studies.
===========
from Pavlos
- Your name: Pavlos S.
- Where you live: Nicosia, Cyprus
- Your Position/Title: Graduate student, Patras, Greece
- The grade or level, subject you are teaching or taught: I have been a teaching assistant at the University of Patras in 3 undergraduate classes. However, I had no teaching experience in the secondary education level
- Interests/hobby I am interested in reading books, reading and writing poetry and painting
- And anything else about you
For the past 8 years I have been living in Patras, Greece since there I had my undergraduate but also graduate studies.
===========
from Pavlos
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Problems and Issues in Britain
This is from James who was a professor in Britain.
--------------------------------------------------
I will have a think about what I can say about schools in Britain. My
work has been in a university, teaching environmental studies. I still
do a little teaching but am mostly retired. I am
not even a parent so I have no experience of schools except as a
school student, and in meeting my university students.
We are,
however, at an interesting time. (1) For 20 years the government has been
saying, "teachers are no good, we must watch them and we must test the
school students. Test, test, test". Now people realise that, if you
ask teachers and students to do tests, that is all they know about,
how to do tests, how to give the right answers. What about creativity,
what about loving to learn? (2) For 20 years,
governments have been trying to create schools that are not run by the
local governments, but by other organisations, such as businesses. The
government wanted schools to do better through competition. (3) We now
have in the last few years all the new techologies and trying to learn
what they can do to make teaching and learning easier and better. I am
trying to learn what difference these technologies make to a university.
Do you have these problems?
--
James
--------------------------------------------------
I will have a think about what I can say about schools in Britain. My
work has been in a university, teaching environmental studies. I still
do a little teaching but am mostly retired. I am
not even a parent so I have no experience of schools except as a
school student, and in meeting my university students.
We are,
however, at an interesting time. (1) For 20 years the government has been
saying, "teachers are no good, we must watch them and we must test the
school students. Test, test, test". Now people realise that, if you
ask teachers and students to do tests, that is all they know about,
how to do tests, how to give the right answers. What about creativity,
what about loving to learn? (2) For 20 years,
governments have been trying to create schools that are not run by the
local governments, but by other organisations, such as businesses. The
government wanted schools to do better through competition. (3) We now
have in the last few years all the new techologies and trying to learn
what they can do to make teaching and learning easier and better. I am
trying to learn what difference these technologies make to a university.
Do you have these problems?
--
James
Nick Vujicic - Life Without Limits
I would like to share this movie with all of you. I think it can be a great educational resource for students.
"No Arms, No Limbs, No Worries"
-Motivator speaks at St. Mary's High School.
"No Arms, No Limbs, No Worries"
-Motivator speaks at St. Mary's High School.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Reggie Robbins- ESL tutor- was a teacher for 20 years
- Why did I choose to be an educator? When I was in college I worked part time in a school for juvenile delinquent girls. As I got to know the girls I was deeply moved by their struggle to find their place in this world and how they probably would never have a good life. How difficult their lives had been. I use to think if only a teacher had touched their lives in a positive way when they were younger...maybe they would not be locked up know. At that time I changed my major and got my masters degree in education. -
How satisfied are you with your job? I taught elementary school for a time and then got involved in teaching ESL. I love teaching ESL. I have learned more from my students than I have ever taught them. My next step is that I hope to begin teaching English in Haiti (for 2 or 3 months a year).
Are you glad you chose teaching as a profession? Absolutely!!!!
Is your job rewarding to you? Very much Why?- I really like all my students. And I have learned so much from all of them.
What level of stress do you feel at your job? When I first started teaching a TOEFL class I felt a lot of stress but now almost no stress at all.
Do you ever feel burn-out?- Not now that I am tutoring and not teaching in the classroom.
What age do you plan to retire? I plan on retiring when I am too old to be able to hear my students or I fall asleep in the middle of a lesson.
Regina
How satisfied are you with your job? I taught elementary school for a time and then got involved in teaching ESL. I love teaching ESL. I have learned more from my students than I have ever taught them. My next step is that I hope to begin teaching English in Haiti (for 2 or 3 months a year).
Are you glad you chose teaching as a profession? Absolutely!!!!
Is your job rewarding to you? Very much Why?- I really like all my students. And I have learned so much from all of them.
What level of stress do you feel at your job? When I first started teaching a TOEFL class I felt a lot of stress but now almost no stress at all.
Do you ever feel burn-out?- Not now that I am tutoring and not teaching in the classroom.
What age do you plan to retire? I plan on retiring when I am too old to be able to hear my students or I fall asleep in the middle of a lesson.
Regina
Saturday, February 14, 2009
The Crisis of the Korean Public Education
Korean has higher education fever than any other nations. It is a social atmosphere and gradually increasing. About 90% of secondary school students take out-of-school lessons such as English, math, science, and other subjects for preparations of school classes. Young elementary school students are also in the same situation. After school they study in each institute or with tutors to get good GPA. The tuition is not cheap. Therefore, much of a family income is spent in private education for their children. (In Korea, the regular school education including public and private schools is called the public education, and individual out-of-school lessons such as tutoring or private institutes are called the private education.)
However, the private education fever has caused the collapse of public education. Students who already studied the curricula feel bored by the school classes. Some of them stealthily study other materials in the classroom. Several students even sleep or doze in class because they take out-of-school lessons until late night so are tired. Many students think that they don’t need to concentrate in class because they already know the classwork. As a result, teachers’ job satisfaction is decreasing, and the will to teach is also weakening. Most teachers feel that their professional teaching ability is not respected by their students. The most serious problem is that these students cannot study by themselves. They tend to depend on lectures of instructors out of school, so that young students cannot make their own study plan and do not even know how to study by themselves.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Korean school system and curriculum
The Korean public education structure is divided into three parts: six years of primary school, followed by three years of middle school and then three years of high school.
The primary curriculum consists of nine principal subjects: moral education, Korean language, social studies, mathematics, science, physical education, music, fine arts, and practical arts. English-language instruction now begins in the third grade, so that children can start learning English in a relaxed atmosphere through conversational exchange, rather than through rote learning of grammatical rules as is still the practice in many middle and high schools.
Upon completion of primary school, students advance to middle school, which comprises grades seven through nine. The curriculum consists of 12 basic or required subjects, electives, and extracurricular activities. While elementary school instructors teach all subjects, middle school teachers, like their colleagues in the United States, are content specialists. High schools are divided into academic and vocational schools. A small number attended specialized high schools concentrating in science, the arts, foreign languages, and other specialized fields. Most of these specialized schools are so-called elite schools. Only top students in middle schools can enter into these schools.
Education in India
This is from Myvizhi who are from Southern part of India. She is studying in a doctor course in the U.S.
School education in India is broadly classified into four levels
1) Preprimary
2) Primary
3) Secondary
4) Higher secondary
Overall, schooling lasts for 12 years and the medium of instruction can be English or the regional state language. However, most private schools offer English as their medium of instruction. Schools will usually begin in the month of june/July and end in the month of march or april with approximately 45 to 60 days of summer holidays. All schools require their students to wear a particular unform to school.The schools are controlled by governing bodies such as
- The state government boards, in which the vast majority of Indian school
-children are enrolled, - The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board,
- The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) board,
- National Open School and
- "International schools."
These schools mimic the schools in the West in pattern and syllabi and are considerably more expensive than regular schools. The exams conducted have the syllabus of any one of the above-mentioned Councils or Boards.
Preprimary schooling can also be called nursery schooling where the children are admited at age 3 and has two years of schooling (lower kindergarden and upper kindergarden levels). Preprimary is not a mandatory but most private school insist on admitting only children with preprimary schooling into primary school.Primary schooling system has class levels from 1 to 5 (in India grade is usually reffered as class). Most public (state schools) admit children at the age of five into class 1 and most public school do not have mandatory preschooling requirements.
School education in India is broadly classified into four levels
1) Preprimary
2) Primary
3) Secondary
4) Higher secondary
Overall, schooling lasts for 12 years and the medium of instruction can be English or the regional state language. However, most private schools offer English as their medium of instruction. Schools will usually begin in the month of june/July and end in the month of march or april with approximately 45 to 60 days of summer holidays. All schools require their students to wear a particular unform to school.The schools are controlled by governing bodies such as
- The state government boards, in which the vast majority of Indian school
-children are enrolled, - The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board,
- The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) board,
- National Open School and
- "International schools."
These schools mimic the schools in the West in pattern and syllabi and are considerably more expensive than regular schools. The exams conducted have the syllabus of any one of the above-mentioned Councils or Boards.
Preprimary schooling can also be called nursery schooling where the children are admited at age 3 and has two years of schooling (lower kindergarden and upper kindergarden levels). Preprimary is not a mandatory but most private school insist on admitting only children with preprimary schooling into primary school.Primary schooling system has class levels from 1 to 5 (in India grade is usually reffered as class). Most public (state schools) admit children at the age of five into class 1 and most public school do not have mandatory preschooling requirements.
Secondary schooling system has lass levels from 6 to 10. Unlike, the flexibilty in selecting subjects that American school system offer student at this level, the Indian system does not offer such flexibility. All the students are required to take all the subjects (e.g. physics, biology etc.) which is stipulated by the governing body. At the end of the secondary schooling, every student is required to take a comprehensive exam.
Higher secondary system has two classes (class 11 and 12). This system however offers some form of flexibility in choosing the subjects based on the governing board and the school. There are limitations on the combinations and permutations of the subjects a student can choose.The governing body may have ten more combinations of subjects commonly called groups (each group offers a set of subjects) and some schools may not offer all the groups. For example, Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science and Advance Math can be in one group while bussiness sccountancy, economics, finance can be in another group and there may not be a group that may offer Chemistry, Finance, Biology as one group . There is also a limitation on the number of the students that can be admitted into one group and hence the score (in class 10) that the student secures determine if he can choose a particular group. For example, Smith is a 10th class student who has a score of 58% (overall) and wants to take advanced math, physics and chemistry (let us assume this to be Group 1)and Ron has a score of 68% (overall). Prefernce will be given to Ron by the school to select group 1 and if group 1 get filled then Smith may have to change schools to get his preferred group (this school may not be as good as the current school Smith like to join). Hence, the class 10 exam carries a lot of weightage and the students are under a lot of pressure to obtain high scores. Once a student chooses a group in class 11 he cannot change his group in class 12. At the end of class 12, all the students have to take a comprehensive exam and the scores in this exam can be used by Universities to determine admission.
The Indian universities may admit students based on the entrance exam that they may conduct or solely based on the class 12 scores or a combination of both. Unlike the American University system, Indian Universities do not admit students with undecided majors. The University can state the it will admit students to engineering major only if they have taken physics, chemistry and advance math as subjects in the higher secondary schooling. This requirement will change with each major that is offered by the University. Since there are limited number of students that the University may accept into a particular major, class 12 scores and entrance exam scores are of vital importance to the career of a student. Therefore to be succesfull in obtaining the desired major in the best ranked university, a student has to be focussed from his class 10 (class 8 in most cases) and has to be consistently securing high scores. Most parents take a lot of interest in their child's career and therefore guide their children throughout the entire process of selecting their career.
This is my subjective thoughts and experiences in the education of India.The teachers in India have lot of authority and the students are bound to listen to them. Unlike in US you can not drink or eat during lectures. During your undergraduate it is bit more relaxed but still these rules reply.I love the syllabus in Indian school. It is well organized. We learn a lot at our young age like differential calculus in our higher secondary school rather than in colleges over here. But I have to admit the facilities here for education is very good. The online features like blackboard and the usage of projectors during the classes are not available in India.The American professors are bit lenient with the students I guess. They do not expect the students to work on holidays and weekends (I am not sure about this). But a college undergrad student takes a maximum of 12 credits while we Indians take like 22 - 28 credits. I don't find anything problem with an American professors but I am really impressed with the projects they allow to the students and a lot more open book exams (which means you have to be strong in your fundamentals to answer the questions). It tests our knowledge rather than just reproducing what is exactly in the book. We used to memorize a lot of formulas which are not required here. They take it slow and easy here. We start schooling at the age of 3 and here it is at 5. And students are allowed to explore outside world during their college education. We have something similar but it is very minimal and mostly we go for research assistant rather than just go to Paris to learn French. And most of the Indians finish their undergraduate college education at the age of 21 - 22. And graduate studies are done later but mostly we try to finish our education at the earliest.
============
from Myvizhi
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
I'm an art teacher from South Korea
Hi, All!
I am Seri Son. I am an art teacher in a middle school in South Korea. I am temporally retiring for several years from 2007. I have taught just for a year as an art teacher. But, I love teaching and my students!
In the fall of 2008, I entered the University of Tennessee and am pursuing an M.S. degree in Instructional Technology. This is my second semester and I think this field of study is very interesting.
After starting this study in the U.S., I have been concerned with diverse cultures, and education in various countries. Because, I have met many people who have a various skin color, different cultures, and values, so that I realized that a much bigger world than my thought before exists.
I hope we meet many people in different countries and share various opinion and information about our education.
Art Class in Teahwa Middle School, South Korea
Monday, February 9, 2009
Overview of this project
1. Title: Educational Systems and Issues in the World
2. Participants: Educators from various countries
3. Language: English
4. Communication tools: a blog and email
5. Overview: Educators (teachers, people who work in schools) from different countries will write about their country’s educational systems and issues on the project blog or share these information and their own opinions by e-mail. They may talk about anything they want to or answer some questions which a project coordinator already created on the blog. They also would discuss about global educational issues and trends. For example, home schooling, the role of current public schools, students’ behaviors, bilingual education, and teacher’s social status, new technologies applied in school, etc. Participants would post their digital photos or video in education.
6. Through this project, all participants can understand and learn about their own and other countries’ different educational circumstances, and recognize and consider global issues through sharing each opinion. Also, they will get a wider view point of the world as an educator. Additionally, they will be able to learn about internet communication skills through participating in this project.
2. Participants: Educators from various countries
3. Language: English
4. Communication tools: a blog and email
5. Overview: Educators (teachers, people who work in schools) from different countries will write about their country’s educational systems and issues on the project blog or share these information and their own opinions by e-mail. They may talk about anything they want to or answer some questions which a project coordinator already created on the blog. They also would discuss about global educational issues and trends. For example, home schooling, the role of current public schools, students’ behaviors, bilingual education, and teacher’s social status, new technologies applied in school, etc. Participants would post their digital photos or video in education.
6. Through this project, all participants can understand and learn about their own and other countries’ different educational circumstances, and recognize and consider global issues through sharing each opinion. Also, they will get a wider view point of the world as an educator. Additionally, they will be able to learn about internet communication skills through participating in this project.
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